Upholstery element

ABSTRACT

An upholstery element comprising a retaining member and a facing member, the former of which is adapted to be inserted into and secured within a suitable aperture in the upholstery of a seat, chair, bench, or the like, the retaining member being provided with a central bore which is adapted to receive a shaft-like portion depending downwardly from the underside of the facing member, with the terminal end of the shaft portion having suitable securing means cooperable with the retaining member for detachably securing the facing member in a position wherein an enlarged diameter head portion thereon covers and thereby conceals the retaining member.

United States Patent Kunz 1 Mar. 18, 1975 UPHOLSTERY ELEMENT [76]Inventor: John W. Kunz, 128 Elm Park Ridge, 'm E'mm",zer Paul G'lhamPleasant Ridge Mich 48069 A ASSISIHIII Exammer-Jfenneth J. DornerAttorney, Agent, or F1rmHarness, D1ckey & P1erce [22] Filed: Feb. 11,1974 7 [-1] Appl. No. 441,667 ABSTRAC Related US. Application Data [63]Continuation of Ser. No. 291,976, Sept. 25, 1972, upholtery elementcompnsmg a h member abandoned and a facmg member, the former of which isadapted to be inserted into and secured within a suitable aper- 152 us.01. 24/90 B, 5/356- ture in the upholstery of a seat, chair, bench, orthe 1511 1m. 01 A44b 1/26 like, the retaining member being provided witha 5 Field f Search u 24 90 R 90 B, 90 F, 9 tral bore which is adapted toreceive a shaft-like por- 24 101 R 102 T, 152; 5 35 35 34 tion dependingdownwardly from the underside of the facing member, with the terminalend of the shaft por- [5 References Ci d tion having suitable securingmeans cooperable with UNITED STATES PATENTS the retainingmember fordetachably securing the fac- 7 081 6/1937 L. 7 24m) R mg member 1n apos1t10n wherem an enlarged diamelmglw 5/356 ter head portion thereoncovers and thereby conceals my? @1957 Me er.1.iiiiiiiijiiiiiiii:jiiiiiiiiiii: 51356 the reaming member- )l6,398 H1963Great Britain 5/356 PATENTEUHAR 1 8 I975 3, 871 ,0 SHEET 2 gr 2 89 1UPI-IOLSTERY ELEMENT This is a continuation, of application Ser. No.291,976, filed Sept. 25, 1972.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally toupholstery elements and more particularly, to a new and improvedupholstery button of the type commonly utilized in retaining upholsterymaterial, such as fabric, leather, vinyl, or other materials in apredetermined covering relationship to an associated piece of furniture,such as a chair, bench, automobile seat, etc.

Upholstery buttons have found wide acceptance as a means for securingupholstered materials, such as fabric, leather, vinyl, plastic or othernatural or synthetic materials in a predetermined operative positioncovering and thereby protecting various types of furniture. Suchupholstery buttons have heretofore been secured by various means locatedinteriorly of the piece of furniture or at least interiorly of thecushioning or padding material usually provided thereon. The attachmentmeans for such upholstery buttons has commonly consisted ofa wireretaining clip secured to some structural portion of the furniture andwhich was in some way secured to an enlarged diameter head portion ofthe upholstery button. If, for any reason, there was a failure of thewire clip, or if the head portion somehow became disengaged from theclip, such prior art upholstery buttons, for all practical purposes,became ineffective, to say nothing of the fact that a rather unsightlyopening was left in the upholstery surface. To make things worse, it hasbeen extremely difficult to replace such broken or inadvertently removedupholstery buttons in that such replacement frequently necessitatedpartial disassembly of the furniture or the removal of the upholsterythereon, and in the case of automobiles, usually the entire seat fromwhich the upholstery button was removed would have to be taken out ofthe automobile in order to replace an upholstery button.

The present invention is directed toward a new and improved upholsterybutton construction which is believed to overcome all of theaforementioned objectionable characteristics of similar type buttonsknown in the prior art. More particularly, the upholstery button of thepresent invention comprises a pair of elements, namely, a retainingelement and a facing element, the former of which is adapted to befixedly secured within the upholstery of the associated furniture, seat,etc., with the facing element comprising an enlarged head portion whichencovers the retaining ele: ment and which is provided with a shaft-likeportion which is adapted to be nestingly received within a central boreof the retaining element and be releasably secured therein. If, for somereason the facing element becomes disengaged from the retaining member,the same may be conveniently replaced without requiring the removal ordisassembly of the associated furniture, as will hereinafter bedescribed in detail.

It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to provide anew and improved upholstery button.

It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide a newand improved upholstery button which may be easily replaced withoutnecessitating disassembly of the associated piece of furniture, bench,seat, etc.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved upholstery button of the above character which is of anextremely simple design, is economical to manufacture and which willhave a long and effective operational life.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevated perspective viewofa typical automobile seat structure incorporating the new and improvedupholstery button of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view takensubstantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded assembly view of the upholstery buttonstructure shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the retaining member of theupholstery button shown in FIG. 3, as taken in the direction of thearrow 4 therein;

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view taken in the direction of the arrow 5in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side elevational view ofa modified embodiment ofthe upholstery button of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged exploded assembly view of the upholstery buttonstructure shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the retainer element incorporatedin the upholstery button shown in FIG. 7, as seen in the direction ofthe arrow 8 therein; and

FIG. 9 is an end elevational view of the upholstery button shown in FIG.7, as seen in the direction of the arrow 9 therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring'now indetail to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, a typicalautomobile seat structure is generally designated by the numeral 10 andis shown as comprising an upwardly projecting back section 12 and agenerally horizontally disposed seat section 14. As will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art, the seat 10 includes a suitable supportstructure or frame (not shown) which is at least partially covered witha deformable or resilient cushioning or padding material illustrated inFIG. 2 and generally designated by the numeral 16. The cushioning orpadding material 16 may consist of any suitable natural or syntheticmaterial and is provided with conventional springs, such as coil springsor the like (also not shown). Typically, the cushioning or paddingmaterial 16 is covered with an exterior layer or covering of a fabric,leather, vinyl, plastic, or other upholstery material, as is designatedby the numeral 18 in FIG. 2. In accordance with the principles of thepresent invention, the seat structure 10 is provided with a plurality ofupholstery elements or buttons, generally designated by the numeral 20which function generally to retain the upholstery material 18 upon thestructure 10 and resist undesirable movement thereof with respect to thepadding or cushioning material 16. Generally speaking, the upholsteryelement or button 20 of the present invention comprises a retainingmember 22 and a facing member 24. As will hereinafter be described indetail, the retaining member 22 is adapted to be inserted through asuitable bore or opening 26 within the seat structure and be fixedlysecured therein at some predetermined location. The facing member 24 isthereafter adapted to be assembled onto the retaining member 22 in amanner such that if, for any reason, the facing member 24 isinadvertently removed or becomes disassembled from the retaining member22, a new facing member 24 may be conveniently reassembled or replacedwithout necessitating any disassembly of the seat structure 10.

As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the retaining member 22 comprises agenerally cylindrically-shaped body 28 having an upper end portion 30which terminates in an enlarged diameter flange or shoulder 32.Depending downwardly from the cylindrical body 28 and integrallyconnected thereto is a pair of spaced apart flexible legs 34 and 36which, as best seen in FIG. 3, terminate at the lower end thereof in apair of generally triangularshaped shoulders 38. Each of these shoulders38 is formed with a downwardly inclined lower surface 40 and with agenerally flat upper surface 42. The shoulders 38 project in the samedirection, i.e., toward the right in FIG. 3, and are adapted to becooperable with another downwardly depending leg 44 that is integrallyconnected at its upper end to the cylindrical body 28 and is formed withan integral shoulder 46 at the lower end thereof. As best seen in FIG.3, the shoulder 46 is directed in the opposite direction from theshoulders 38 and comprises a generally downwardly directed inclinedlower surface 48 and a generally flat upper surface 50. The shoulder 46is normally being disposed interjacent the shoulders 38 in a mannershown in solid lines in FIG. 3. The three legs 34, 36 and 44 define anelongated cavity 52 therebetween which is adapted to nestingly receive awire or rod-like element 54 therewithin, such as a typical springelement or similar wire reinforcing member normally provided within theseat structure 10. More particularly, in order to effect assembly ofaretaining member 22, the lower end thereof is inserted downwardlythrough the bore 26 at a position wherein the bifurcated notch or recessdefined between the inclined surfaces 40 and 48 of the shoulders 38 and46 is aligned with the wire element 54. As a retaining member 22 isbiased downwardly, the surfaces 40, 48 engage the upper surface of thewire 54 thereby causing the legs 34, 36 and 44 to be biased away fromone another from the solid line position in FIG. 3 to the dotted lineposition in this figure. Continued downward movement ofthe retainingmember 22 will result in the wire 54 moving upwardly into the cavity 52,after which time the legs 34, 36, and 44, due to their natural flexiblecharacter, will automatically return from the dotted line position inFIG. 3 to the solid line position in this figure. When this occurs, itwill be seen that the flat surfaces 42 and 50 on the shoulders 38 and 46will move to a position underlying the wire 54, thereby positivelysecuring the retaining member 22 in the final assembled position bestseen in FIG. 2. It will be appreciated, of course, that the length ofthe body 28 may be varied in accordance with the specific dimensionsbetween the upper surface or upholstery fabric 18 of the structure 10and the associated wire-like element 54 with which a specific retainingmember is to be operably engaged.

Referring now to the facing member 24, as best seen in FIG. 3, themember 24 comprises a generally flat, disc-shaped head portion 56 whichmay be covered or otherwise decorated in any desirable manner so as tocomplement or match the color, texture or appearance of the upholsteryfabric 18. The head portion 56 is formed with an integral downwardlyprojecting shaft portion 58, the lower end of which is formed with agenerally comically-shaped end portion 60 defining an annular shoulder62. The shaft section 58 is adapted, upon prior assembly of theretaining member 22, to be nestingly received within a generally axiallyextending bore 64 formed in the body 28 of the retaining member 22. Asbest seen in FIG. 3, the bore 64 extends downwardly from the upper endof the member 22 and terminates at the lower end thereof in a generallyfrustoconical or tapered aperture 66 which is in turn comm unicable atits lower end with interior of the cavity 52. The diameter of the lowerend of the opening 66 is slightly smaller in diameter than the upper endof the conical end portion 60, such that upon insertion of the shaftsection 58 downwardly through the bore 64, the end portion 60 is adaptedto be forced downwardly through the restricted opening 66 to a positionwherein the shoulder 62 engages the upper end of the cavity 52 definedby a generally annular surface 68. It will be seen that when the facingmember 24 is thus secured to the retaining member 22, as best seen inFIG. 2, the head portion 56 will entirely cover the upper end of theretaining member 22 so that the same is effectively concealed. Inaddition, if, for any reason, the head portion 24 becomes separated fromthe shaft section 58 or if the entire facing member 24 is inadvertentlyremoved from the retaining member 22, another such facing member 24 maybe easily assembled to replace the original member 23 withoutnecessitating removal of the retaining member 22 or any disassembly ofthe seat structure 10.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-9, a somewhat modified embodiment of thepresent invention is shown in the form of an upholstery button assemblygenerally designated by the numeral and comprising a retaining member 82and a facing member 84. In addition, the assembly 80 includes agenerally circular or discshaped washer member 86 which is cooperablewith the retaining member 82 in operatively securing the same within thebore 16 of an associated padding 19 or cushioning material 16, as willhereinafter be described.

The retaining member 82 is generally similar in construction to theaforedescribed retaining member 22 and comprises a cylindrical body 88having an upper end portion 90 terminating an enlarged diameter flangeor shoulder 92. The body 88 is formed with a central bore 94 analogousto the bore 64 and terminating at the lower end thereof in a taperedaperture 96 having an annular shoulder 98 at the lower end thereof. Thelower end of the body 88 is formed with a pair of downwardly depending,spaced apart legs 100 which define a cavity 102 therebetween. As shown,the upper end of the cavity 102 is communicable with the bore 94 via thetapered aperture 96. The laterally outer sides of the legs 100 areformed with outwardly projecting, downwardly tapered shoulder portions104 which are defined by downwardly inclined surfaces 106 and generallyflat upper surfaces 108. As best seen in FIG. 7 the lower end of thecavity 102 extends downwardly between the shoulders 104 and terminatestherewithin in a generally conically-shaped lower cavity portion 110.

With reference now to the washer member 86, as best seen in FIG. 9, themember 86 comprises a generally disc-shaped upper section 112 thatincludes a downwardly extending annular central portion 114 formed witha central, generally rectangular opening 116 that extends entirelythrough the washer member 86. The portion 114 is formed with acounterbore 118 defining a generally flat surface 120 which extendsentirely around the periphery of the opening 116 and is adapted tocooperate with the upper surfaces 108 of the shoulders 104 in a mannerhereinafter to be described. It will be noted that the cross-sectionalsize of the opening 116 is greater than the major dimension of theshoulders 108, and somewhat smaller than the cross-sectional size of theretainer member 82 directly above the shoulders 104 whereby the lowerend of the retainer member 82 may be biased downwardly through theopening 116, as described below.

At such time it is desired to effect assembly or mounting of theretainer member 82, the same is biased downwardly through the bore 26 inthe associated padding or cushioning material 16. The washer member 86is oriented on the underside of the material 16 with the opening 116 inalignment with the bore 26. Accordingly, as the retainer member 82 isbiased downwardly through the bore 26, the lower end of the member 82will be inserted into the opening 116. As the member 82 is biaseddownwardly still further, the tapered or inclined surfaces 106 of theshoulders 104 will cause the lower end of the retainer member 82 to bedeformed inwardly, whereupon the shoulders 104 will pass downwardlythrough the opening 116. At such time as the shoulders 104 have entirelypassed through the opening 116, due to the natural resiliency of theretainer member 82, the legs 100 will be biased outwardly again to theposition shown in FIG. 6, whereupon the upper surfaces 108 of theshoulders 104 will become engaged with the flat surface 120 definedwithin the counterbore 118 to lockingly secure the retainer member 82and washer member 86 in the operative position shown in FIG. 6.Thereafter, the facing member 84, which is essentially identical inconstruction and operation to the aforedescribed facing member 24 andcomprises a head portion 122, shaft section 124 and conical end portion126, is inserted downwardly through the bore 94 to a position whereinthe end portion 126 is lockingly engaged with the shoulder 98 defined atthe upper end of the cavity 102. In this position, the facing member 84entirely conceals the retaining member 82 and may be convenientlyreplaced when desired, as above described.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the present invention provides anew and improved upholstery button which features a number ofimprovements over similar type devices known in the prior art. Inparticular, the present invention permits convenient replacement of theexposed button or facing member without necessitating disassembly of theassociated upholstered structure. In addition, the upholstery button ofthe present invention will be found to be universally applicable instructures having internal wire-like reinforcing structures, springs,etc., or those which are devoid of such structures. Additionally, theupholstery button of the present invention will find wide and variedapplication in that the components thereof may be fabricated of readilyavailable materials, such as various types of synthetic plastic materialand/or metallic alloys known in the art. Also, the upholstery button ofthe present invention will be seen to be extremely attractive from acost standpoint since it is of an extremely simple design, is economicalto manufacture and easy to assemble.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiments of theinvention disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objects abovestated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible tomodification, variation and change without departing from the properscope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A two-piece upholstery device for a cushion having upholsterymaterial along one side thereof and at least one wire-like memberextending generally parallel to said side and spaced a predetermineddistance from said upholstery material, said device including a moldedretaining element fabricated of plastic material and having an upperbody portion having a central bore formed therein with the lower end ofsaid bore terminating in a generally outwardly radial surface, saidretaining member also including a plurality of downwardly extending legsdefining a cavity therebetween and formed integrally of said body, saidlegs being flexible independently of one another and being formed with aretaining shoulder on the lower end thereof, each of said retainingshoulders including a downwardly inclined camming surface and agenerally flat upper surface, with said legs being normally orientatedsuch that said camming surfaces thereof define a V- shaped recess whichis engageable with said member to cause the lower ends of said legs toflex away from one another to permit said member to pass into saidcavity upon downward movement of said retaining element, whereby saidfiat surfaces of said shoulders will engage the underside of said memberto lockingly secure said retaining element to said cushion, with saidretaining element being secured in a manner to compress the upholsteredmaterial when extending thereinto, said device also including a facingelement including head and shaft portions the former of which overliesthe upper end of said retaining element when said shaft portion isinserted into said bore, the lower end of said shaft portion including alocking part defining an enlarged shoulder spaced from said head theapproximate distance of the length of said bore and received in theupper end of said cavity and engaging said radial surface at said lowerend of said body portion to lockingly secure said facing element to saidretaining element.

2. An upholstery element as set forth in claim 1 wherein said legs arethree in number with two having shoulders thereon facing in onedirection and a' third having a shoulder thereon facing in the oppositedirection.

1. A two-piece upholstery device for a cushion having upholsterymaterial along one side thereof and at least one wire-like memberextending generally parallel to said side and spaced a predetermineddistance from said upholstery material, said device including a moldedretaining element fabricated of plastic material and having an upperbody portion having a central bore formed therein with the lower end ofsaid bore terminating in a generally outwardly radial surface, saidretaining member also including a plurality of downwardly extending legsdefining a cavity therebetween and formed integrally of said body, saidlegs being flexible independently of one another and being formed with aretaining shoulder on the lower end thereof, each of said retainingshoulders including a downwardly inclined camming surface and agenerally flat upper surface, with said legs being normally orientatedsuch that said camming surfaces thereof define a V-shaped recess whichis engageable with said member to cause the lower ends of said legs toflex away from one another to permit said member to pass into saidcavity upon downward movement of said retaining element, whereby saidflat surfaces of said shoulders will engage the underside of said memberto lockingly secure saiD retaining element to said cushion, with saidretaining element being secured in a manner to compress the upholsteredmaterial when extending thereinto, said device also including a facingelement including head and shaft portions the former of which overliesthe upper end of said retaining element when said shaft portion isinserted into said bore, the lower end of said shaft portion including alocking part defining an enlarged shoulder spaced from said head theapproximate distance of the length of said bore and received in theupper end of said cavity and engaging said radial surface at said lowerend of said body portion to lockingly secure said facing element to saidretaining element.
 2. An upholstery element as set forth in claim 1wherein said legs are three in number with two having shoulders thereonfacing in one direction and a third having a shoulder thereon facing inthe opposite direction.